Different
by gus-grav13
Summary: The only sound that could be heard was the sound of the clock ticking while the two siblings waited for their father to arrive at the principal's office. There was blood dripping on the carpet from his knuckles and on his pants from his nose and mouth. She brushed through her hair not used to her involuntarily, freshly cut hair.[Maincharaters: Keith and Mira(Later Gus and Ace too)]
1. Chapter 1

_Hello~ _

_Sorry for not updating my Spectra x Gus story, I've been working on this one :3_

_This is a superpowers AU where everyone except for Keith and Mira has superpowers, hope you'll enjoy~ :D_

_As always if there's something wrong with the grammar or the spelling, please point it out, I'll correct it. :)_

_Chapter 1: Different_

The only sound that could be heard was the sound of the clock ticking while the two siblings waited for their father to arrive at the principal's office. There was blood dripping on the carpet from his knuckles and on his pants from his nose and mouth. She brushed through her hair hot used to her involuntarily, freshly cut hair. None of the three attendees said a word. The principal looked at the teenagers full of disgust and contempt, they knew he hated them but everyone else did anyway so they didn't care. Their father has told them since they were children: "You two are different. All the other kids will probably offend you and try to make you feel bad about yourself but I want you to never listen to their insults and always be proud of what you are. You are just as human as they are but their attitude may be worse. Well at least the attitude of most of the children. And Keith, please protect your sister." He did. But meanwhile his sister has grown and can defend herself. She became a strong young woman and is probably one of the prettiest girls in school although none of the students wanted to admit that because she was different, just like her brother.

The three heard footsteps outside. Their father, Professor Clay, entered the room without knocking on the door and looked at his children, sighing. He was already used to his children getting in trouble, he just walked up to the principal and apologized. The principle, , looked at him bored before speaking: "Professor Clay, I understand that it's hard for you raising two troubled children on your own but you have to discipline them. Only one more incident like this and you can look for a new school for them, do you understand?" – "Yes, Sir." He simply said. He knew he shouldn't talk back although he really despised the way Mr. Zenoheld was talking about his children. "Good. Now leave and take them with you." The principal ordered. The teenagers didn't even expect him to talk to them. They knew he didn't take him serious, they've been in this situation quite a lot of times before.

The family left and got inside the car none of them saying a word. While Professor Clay was driving he asked his children: "You don't want to sue them, do you?" "No, we can handle this by ourselves." Mira, his daughter, said and Keith her brother nodded in agreement. Professor Clay sighed "Listen, I know you both are strong and of course you can defend yourselves but this whole situation is getting out of hand. Just look what they've done to your hair, Mira!" the father said worriedly "Who did this anyway?" he added "This Mylene again?" "Yes." The orange haired girl answered. "And it doesn't matter. I wanted to cut my hair anyway." She said stubbornly. Her brother and father knew very well that she was lying; she has loved and cared for her long hair very much still both didn't comment on this, knowing that she didn't want to hear it. The rest of the way home was silent.

When they got home Mira walked up to her room, sat down on her bed and looked at herself in the mirror. "I don't need to tell you, do I?" Professor Clay asked his son raising an eyebrow. He was really worried about his only two children who've been terrorized by the other kids since they were in preschool. Because of all the bullying they got through the two siblings actually gained a really strong bond, they barely left each other's sides and always stood up for the other one no matter how futile the situation has been. But the small bullying actions like calling them names or ignore them became bigger problems the taller his two kids got. The worst that the other kids have done to them was beat them black and blue and to cut Mira's hair off. Fortunately it had only happened for the first time.

"I am going to take care of her, father." He said thankful that their father didn't do anything without their agreement otherwise he would've already sued half of the school including Mr. Zenoheld. "And let your sister take care of you too! You are still bleeding, Keith!" he shouted after his son who walked upstairs to comfort his sister. He had already forgotten his nose and lip were bleeding, his knuckles too as well as his knees which he fell on and ripped open. He walked up to his little sisters' room and asked "Can I come in?" not wanting to knock and leave blood trails on the door with his injured knuckles. "Sure" the answer came from the other side of the door. As her brother walked in Mira turned around to look at him "Are you fine, Mira?" he asked and sat down next to her. "Yes, I'm fine. I already have an idea how I could style them." The younger girl said chuckling and stood up to take the first-aid-kit and band-aid her brother's nose and lip. Keith suddenly felt the pain in his nose again and gritted his teeth as Mira helped him with the injury. When he kind of got used to the pain he asked "So you're not sad?" and looked at his little sister. "Not really. I mean of course I really liked my long hair but it's not like my life is ruined now that it's short. Life goes on." She answered and put a patch on each wound "More important is that you won't forget to stay longer in school tomorrow. You have to tutor this boy in German, remember?" Right. Keith had already forgotten he agreed tutoring a boy one class level lower than him. "Yes, thanks for reminding me." He said, Mira finishing her work. "No problem she said smiling at her brother. The two siblings have always been very close due to their loneliness and dependence on each other. "Anyway, it's late let's eat and go to sleep, ok?" Keith asked smiling. His sister returned the smile, nodding happily and walking down the stairs with her brother.


	2. Chapter 2

**Second chapter**

**I'm so sorry that I'm updating it this late. Hope you enjoy the first meeting with Ace~! In the next chapter I'm gonna focus on the meeting between Keith and Gus :D**

_A new Ally_

On the next morning Keith and Mira were making breakfast. Their father was working hard to earn more money than the average so the family wouldn't need to worry about the money. Mira was placing the plates on the table and her brother was making some pancakes.

"Hey, what do you know about this boy you are going to tutor?" the girl asked her brother smiling. "Literally nothing" Keith shrugged and replied "Just that he's one year younger than I and that he needs help in German." The teacher didn't even tell his name, she just said they were going to meet today eighth period in the working room. Yes the school actually had only one working room.

While the siblings put everything on the table their father came down with a yawn and a sleepy "Good morning" "Morning, dad!" Mira said with her usual smile on her face. "Good morning, father." The older boy greeted before the family sat down and began eating. "Your new hair style really suits you, Mira." Said girl had her hair styled back in a spike-like form, her dad was right. The short hair complimented her face even more than her long hair used to. "Thanks dad. Keith said the same when he saw me today." The girl said smiling happily.

"Is something special going to happen in school today?" the father asked his children like he did every morning. "I'm going to start tutoring a boy in German." Keith said "Really? Sounds nice. Well, that's if the boy is nice… Is he?" Professor Clay asked interested. "I don't know. I don't even know his name yet." His son pointed out. "Well, I hope he isn't like most of the people you have to deal with." Their father said sighing, he was really worried about his children and their mental state. He knew exactly how hard it can be dealing with people who despite you and want you to leave. He knew exactly how hard it is to keep your spirit up and not to give in to these people and he knew exactly that it was even harder when he couldn't be there for them all the time. He often came home around 10 pm tired and just wanting to go to sleep. If it wasn't for his children who forced him to stay awake and eat something after he returned he would probably be starving by now.

"We'll get a new classmate today." Mira announced eating up. "A new classmate?" the professor wondered finishing his meal as well. "They'll probably be just like the others, won't they?" he asked. Mira nodded and answered "Probably. Even though it would be a really nice change if they would be different." The girl was sick and tired of all the judging and fighting and just wanted to live in piece but more importantly she wanted to have at least one best friend. Of course she and her brother did have a few friends at school it wasn't like they were completely alone there but neither Mira nor Keith had a best friend. Dan for example had Shun. These two were complete opposites, Dan was loud and lively while Shun was calm and always keeping his cool. Shun knew Dan the best and always knew how to calm the exited boy down. Baron had Marucho. The calm and optimistic way suited Baron's joyful and lively personality perfectly. And the two girls Runo and Julie knew each other since kindergarten so of course they were best friends.

As Keith ate up too the family stood up, Mira helping Keith doing the dishes and their father preparing to leave. "Good luck with the new ones, children." He said and smiled at them. "I have a feeling that it's actually not going to be that bad." He tried to encourage the two siblings. Both gave their father a small smile and thanked him. Mira hugged Professor Clay while Keith was just standing there leaning against the doorframe and sighing. He really hoped that the boy was going to be nice otherwise this whole tutoring thing will be just another big pain in the ass. "I'll be off then" the father said waving both of his children goodbye and leaving. "I think we need to leave too." Mira said looking at the clock. Her brother following her gaze nodded in agreement and started to put on his jacket and his shoes, Mira doing the same.

After a while both left the house and made their way to school. It was the beginning of autumn, the new school year had just begun and the leaves were starting to change colors. The streets were shining in a red, orange and yellow light with some green shades of the leaves. It would be a beautiful sight wouldn't it be the way to hell for the two teenagers. It was beginning to get cold and it seemed like every day the wind was blowing stronger and stronger to keep them away from school, almost like the wind wanted to protect them. But they knew better. They knew it could not be helped and that they needed to go to school to get a good job so they continued their way enjoying the colorful leaves before they would meet the first few students who would look down on them again.

As they arrived Keith and Mira went to their classes, Mira already mentally preparing herself for the new student. She sat down next to Runo and Julie and smiled at them. "Mira, what happened to your beautiful hair?!" Julie asked shocked clapping her hands over her mouth. "Oh, I just wanted to try something new, don't worry." She said glancing over to one of the meanest people in school who was in her class: Lync. She quickly looked away not wanting her two friends to worry about her. "Well, it does look nice on you." Runo pointed out and smiled at her. "I mean I would never cut my hair" she said holding on to it as to demonstrate how much she loved her long, blue hair "but it does look good on you!" "Thanks for the compliments, girls!" Mira said smiling.

"Hey, what happened to your hair, powerless?" a shrieking voice called out to her, Mira and her two friends immediately knew whose voice it was: Lync Volan, one of the people who hung out with Mylene and Shadow approached them with a wide grin on his face. He had probably heard of the fight with Mylene yesterday already. How could he not? Mylene and Shadow, who was following her like a dog all the time, always bragged about the fights they had with "the powerless jerks" and no matter how the fight ended, they always told everyone they had won. Pricks, Mira thought. And Lync was dumb enough to believe every word they said. He admired them and although the others who were against the two siblings did too, Lync was an even bigger fan of the two tyrants. He always followed them around and did everything they told him to. Mira wasn't sure though whether he did that out of admiration or out of fear. She sometimes believed that the pink haired boy did fear that if he'd turn his back on them, they'd make his life into a hellhole with no way out. They were able to do that, no one doubted that, but Keith and Mira were the only ones brave or foolish enough to stand against them.

As the small boy with piercing blue eyes approached the three girls, his grin grew wider with every step he took. "So you finally understood that long hair looks shit on you, powerless?" he asked evilly. "Leave her alone!" Julie shouted at him, protecting her friend. "Yeah, go and follow your great role model around!" Runo said looking coldly at him. Mira was grateful that the two girls stood up for her. It was a nice feeling to have friends, who will help you out no matter what. It was a feeling she was ready to fight for. No matter who or when she would need to fight for her friends, she'd always do so.

"She's not my role model!" Lync told looking away "We're friends!" "Friends!" Mira laughed out. "What kind of friends are you? You are kissing the ground that touches her heels! Friends don't do such things, sure friends value each other but you apparently don't see that you don't mean anything to them, do you, Volan? I mean she has never even looked you in the eye, because she thinks you're not worth it!" He looked at Mira disapprovingly and turned away "As if you know what having friends is like, powerless!"

Before one of them could say something the door was opened and the teacher came in with the new student. Everyone sat down and was quiet, curiously looking at the new boy. Even Lync was quiet. The boy had an average height and weight probably too, Mira thought. He didn't look weak but also not too strong, he had middle long turquoise hair which was cut layered. His eyes were grey and you could tell his power was Darkus. He looked neutrally at the students and observed all of them while the teacher was speaking. His eyes stopped as he looked at Mira and she believed to have seen a small glint in his eyes but threw that thought away immediately. He wouldn't be interested in her. Especially after he'll find out about her little issue, after all, everyone was the same in this school. Of course there were exceptions but she didn't believe he'd be one of those people who'd need to fight against the whole school every day.

"Introduce yourself please." The teacher said and looked at the boy who looked at the teacher, a little startled and caught off guard. He cleaned his throat and looked back at the class starting his introduction. "My name is Ace Grit. I'm sixteen years old and my power is Darkus. Nice to meet you." A short introduction and very neutral too Mira thought. He also didn't seem to judge anyone in class just from the looks. That somehow gave Mira hope. Although she knew that this didn't mean anything. If a stranger would pass her, he'd assume she had powers too. She didn't stand out much and you couldn't really see a difference between her and the others. Mylene wanted her to join her group in the beginning but when she found out that the orange haired girl didn't have any powers, she immediately laughed at her and made fun of her in front of everyone. She couldn't afford to lose her reputation, whichever reputation she might have.

The boy started walking to the back of the class where he could sit and while passing Mira he looked at her with an almost invisible smile on his face. The blue eyed girl saw it though and smiled back, happily. She really did hope that Ace wouldn't be as judgmental as the others.


	3. Chapter 3

**As promised the third chapter (late as always)**

**Once again I apologize for the late update of the story but here it is! The third chapter where I'm mostly going to focus on Gus and Keith! Enjoy :D**

**Gosh, I really need more of punk Gus…**

After school Keith met up with Mira in front of the school gates to say goodbye to his sister. "So this Ace guy is nice you say?" He asked, not really trusting the new boy. After all there were only a few people the two siblings could really trust in this school. "He is fine, Keith, you know I can take care of myself!" she said, smiling at the other. Her big brother sighed, knowing he couldn't convince her to be more careful around the new one. He nodded and smiled at Mira "Alright, alright. Still, be careful, ok?" he said in a concerned tone as she turned away to walk with Julie and Runo. "Yep!" She answered smiling and beginning to talk to her friends while they walked away from school.

Keith turned around and started making his way to the working room where he was supposed to meet the other boy. As he walked he let his thoughts drift away to the new guy. Maybe he was wrong after all. He couldn't know yet. He would be really glad though if Ace would actually be on their side and not destroy Mira's hopes. She seemed to be very interested in him and Keith would never forgive him if he'd hurt her. Still he kept the possibility of him being on their side and him being one of the few people who weren't as superficial and narrow-minded as the others in mind. The chance of him being like that was quite low though and normally Keith wouldn't care but in this case Mira was starting to believe the new boy and Keith was afraid that she'd trust him too much. He didn't want her to get hurt by people like Mylene.

Speaking of which, he hasn't heard anything of her and her lapdog today which was nearly a miracle. He'd thought that they'd tell their story of how Mylene had beaten up and disgraced his sister mercilessly right after it happened. It was weird but Keith didn't complain. Why should he? A day with less stress and headaches seemed to be a nice change of things to him. He could get used to it although he knew that such a constant change would probably never happen.

The pink haired boy sighed as he arrived at the working room of the school and looked through the small glass part of the door to see whether someone was already inside or not. As he looked into the room he saw a boy looking like approximately his age with a quite original look. The boy was sitting on one of the black chairs, looking outside the window and probably listening to music. Keith could tell because of the regular slight movement of his head and feet as if he'd move them to a beat. He had long, curly blue hair which looked a little messy and he believed to see a slight trace of some dark circles around his eyes. He didn't seem tired though, his bright green eyes looked outside and watched the rain fall in an almost fascinated way and Keith believed that besides his foot and his head, his fingers were moving in the same beat. A part of his hands was covered by black leather gloves, which ended at the beginning of his fingers and were open on the back of his hand. He wore a black leather jacket with golden zippers. The jacket was open and showed a black shirt with a yellow Batman sign on it. His pants were ripped on different parts of the legs, mostly on his knees and he wore leather boots, of course in black, just like his pants.

Clearly a punk then, Keith thought, regarding the boy for a few seconds before knocking on the door and walking in. The other one didn't react, probably didn't hear me, Keith thought as he approached him to somehow announce his presence. The blue haired boy noticed the presence of the other, his eyes shooting up to see the moving reflection of Keith on the window. He put out his headphones and sat up, smiling at the pink haired boy. Punks normally were neutral to the whole conflict, Keith knew because he had some experience and as far as he remembered he had seen this boy around school quite often. "Hey. I'm Gus. Nice to meet you." He said smiling friendly at the other. Keith smiled, being relieved that this boy was open-minded when it came to cooperating with him. "Hey. You probably know who I am." Keith said a little sarcastically. Of course Gus knew who he was. Everyone in school knew who he was; there'd be no chance that this person wouldn't know him. "Sure I do." Gus said smirking slightly. It must've been Mira's and Keith's lucky day. Keith was amazed by how great the day was going until now. Mylene and Shadow weren't at school, Mira's new classmate seemed friendly and could maybe be friends with them and Gus too seemed very nice.

Keith sat down at the opposite side of the table and looked at the other boy "So, what exactly is your problem with German?" He asked. Keith was quite good with foreign languages, to him it all seemed simple and logical so he didn't quite understand the common problems other students had with learning languages. "My problems? Geez I don't know.. My teacher says that my pronunciation is very good but that I need to remember the rules of grammar." Gus said quite neutral, as if he didn't care much about it. "Grammar?" Keith asked, thinking "Could he mean stuff like structure of sentences and the right conjugation of verbs?" "Yeah, I think it's that. Why is German so complicated in the first place? And why do we have to learn it?" He mumbled and sighed. Keith smirked slightly. German was complicated indeed but he personally thought, once you get the hang of it, you'll get most of the things correct.

The two boys started studying and Keith told the other some hints to get the sentence structure right and was really amazed by the other's pronunciation. He had mentioned the teacher praising him for that but he hadn't expected it to be this good although he had these problems with grammar.

After an hour of learning Keith closed the book. Gus smiled and leaned back in his chair, stretching and yawning. "So, when's the next time?" He asked. "How about we meet every Wednesday and Friday after school?" Keith suggested. Gus thought for a moment, probably about his regular plans on these days, before nodding. "Sounds good to me." He said and smiled. "Good. I think we should change locations though. These kids running in and out of the room was really annoying." "Yeah, I totally agree. Where should we meet?" The other asked and looked to the door, hearing said children running past the door again. Before Keith could answer Gus sat up excitedly and beamed "Oh, how about a Café? I know a nice little Café; it has a really nice atmosphere and it's quiet too. I often go there to like relax and read or listen to music." Keith thought about it for a while. It sounded nice but he wasn't sure whether that was a really good idea. Mira and he didn't have good experiences with Cafés because the owners refused to bring them any food, it was simply horrible. "I don't know... People don't really like me, Café owners refuse me too." He stated with a mildly concerned look. This didn't bring Gus' enthusiasm down apparently "That's no problem, the owner is a good friend of mine! He noticed that I was visiting his Café quite often so every now and then he sat down to my table and we had some Smalltalk. We really got to know each other when I was feeling down and was outside at night, he saw me and picked me up although I like... insulted him because I was furious at that moment" he told the other, smiling at the memory. Keith found that precious; he loved seeing people smile about things that crossed their mind and the fact that Gus was being so open towards him was making the blue eyed boy glad. "He took me into the Café and talked to me, he heard me out and gave me really great advice. I was wondering why he was this nice to me like most adults avoid me, I mean just look at me." He said referring to his rebellious appearance. "But he told me that he was the same when he was young and added jokingly that he couldn't afford losing his regular customer." He said and looked at Keith with a smile "So I don't think he'll have a problem with you, he's a very open minded person." Keith listened to all this and couldn't hold back a smile. "Okay, we'll meet there then." He agreed to the offer and after saying goodbye to each other and arranging place and time to meet for the next session, both left school and went home.

Keith was positively surprised about what a good person Gus seemed to be. He could've got someone like Mylene or Shadow who wouldn't value his help and his attempts to somehow get along with them. But Gus was completely different. He didn't mention anything about any powers, he seemed to start the conversation without any prejudices or rumours in the back of his head and just form his own opinion. Also he admired his character. He was completely independent and seemingly constantly in a good mood.

As Keith arrived home it was 4 pm in the afternoon, his dad wasn't home yet. "I'm home." He announced himself, knowing that Mira would want to know everything that happened; and just as he expected his little sister came down the stairs, smiling at her big brother "So? How was he? Was he a jerk? Was he nice? Does he have the potential to be your boyfriend?" She asked jokingly and grinned at him. Keith rolled his eyes but grinned too. "Funny. He wasn't a jerk. He was pretty nice actually, I like him." He told her and both of them sat down in the kitchen so Keith could eat. "Sounds interesting!" the girl beamed smiling "What's his name? And what does he look like?" "Gus. The shortest way to describe him would be: long, curly, blue hair, green eyes and a punk." "A punk?" Mira's grin widened. "Yes. Why are you grinning like that?" the older one asked a little confused. "Oh it's nothing. I just like the idea of you, the calm and rational one next to a punk, who's probably very enthusiastic and emotional." She explained and chuckled. "And you really get along well?" She asked more serious now. After he ensured her that the two of them got along really well, they talked a bit and went on doing their homework and chores before going to bed and rest from a quite adequate day.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4!**

**It's getting a little late because I got a new laptop recently and didn't want to start writing on the old slow-ass one (not looking for excuses at all. Sorry).**

**I wanted to try and make a Christmas update and I hope I succeeded. This chapter is gonna be a little longer and as you'll see it's more flashed forward.**

**Have fun and please leave reviews!**

Meanwhile it was December and all the exams were over for Keith and Mira. The Christmas holidays were coming and Mira was as pumped for it as most of the people in school were. She often wore her self made Christmas jumpers in several colors, her favourites were blue ones with white snowflakes and snowmen and a brown one with reindeers, presents and Christmas trees. The two siblings got through their exams well and their private life improved too since Mira got to know Ace and Keith became friends with Gus. Keith's hair has grown quite a bit by then and it didn't seem like the boy wanted to cut it.

During the time that passed Mylene and Shadow tried to fight with the two a few times but their friends actually managed to prevent them from it. Both, Mira and Keith were very greatful that they gained such amazing new friends. Everytine Mylene and Shadow came up with half a dozen other students to beat them up, they saw them standing in quite a big group and especially after seeing Volt, one of Gus friends, their minions retreated, not wanting to get beaten up themselves. Alone the two cool kids didn't want to fight, they actually showed some common sense and left them alone.

Keith met up with Gus regularly, first they focused on school, then they spent the rest of the evening sitting in the Café just talking and laughing about random and serious subjects; basically anything that came to their minds. The two of them got along very well and they were starting to become close Keith had found out about the other one was that he had quite a normal family, he was an only child, his mother was homophobic, his dad was, as he said himself, surprisingly tolerant regarding that subject. He was bisexual, which was the reason why he knew this about his parents, he had been bullied and had been through depressions and anxiety. The two of them were quite similar, he noticed, although now, that he learned to live with depressions and anxiety, he had developed a really strong character, which Keith really respected him for. He didn't give a damn about what people thought of him, he didn't hide his hobbies, his 'obsessions', as he called them, his music taste, his style, he was an open person and everytime someone tried to make him down, he gave back twice as hard. What the pink haired boy had also found out about his new friend that he was a passionate geek. He loved many shows, movies, games, comics and manga as well, which was the reason why he often neglected school or sleep. It never got boring talking to him, Keith thought and especially he liked listening to the younger one, because everytime he really got into a subject his eyes started to shine and he got really excited. In some way Keith did find Gus adorable.

He also got introduced to Gus' friends. Volt and Hydron. Volt was a big and muscular boy. He was calm and didn't talk much at first but once the conversation started he talked quite a lot. Him and Gus apparently shared their passion for video games and movies while Hydron and Gus shared their passion for series and music. Hydron was the son of Zenoheld but he was the opposite of his father. Gus had told him that Hydron was going through a hard time a while ago, because he had figured out that he was asexual and he was afraid how his father would react to it. He had been afraid to disappoint him which would be guaranteed with a dad like Zenoheld. He opened up to Gus first, then to Volt, who both have really supported him. They helped him build up confidence and after he told his dad, he got kicked out and he now lived with Volt. He realized that he didn't need his dad and that his friends have been more of a family to him than his dad ever was.

Not only he got to know Gus and his friends, he also met Ace. Mira didn't know much about him because he just wasn't the talkative type of person. And although he and Mira argued a lot, the next day they met up they just started talking like nothing happened. To be honest, Keith was amazed by this, because once Mira was angry at someone, she didn't fogive that easy but apparently Ace was different. He wasn't a bad guy though. He stood up to Mira and when Keith asked him about the not having any powers thing, he answered honestly that he personally did have powers but they were really weak apparently.

Mira spent a lot of time with Ace and her other friends. Dan and the others liked Ace too and accepted him without hesitating. Ace mostly acted like it was a pain in the ass to hang around them but he still didn't want to change a thing. Another thing he told Mira was, that he had a little sister named Lucy. He didn't give her any more details though.

* * *

As Mira came home from a meeting with Runo and Julie her dad wasn't home yet. She went into the kitchen and emptied her bag. She put out a little box with some cookies, the three had backed

and placed some of them on a plate. The orange haired girl hummed a christmas song that was stuck in her head and went up to her brother's room. She knocked and after a "yes" she came in to see Keith and Gus sitting on Keith's bed studying. "Hey boys!" she greeted happily. The two boys were sitting closer as they needed to, just as always, Mira thought and they looked like their hair was wet. "Hey" said Keith. "What's up?" Gus asked and looked at her with a smile. "Me and the girls baked some cookies." she said smiling and gave them the plate. "These ones are for you." Gus sat up straight and took one immediately. "Thank you!" He said and was already chewing on one. "May I ask what you two did to your hair?" the girl asked and chuckled. The two boys chuckled as well before Keith told her that they had a snowball fight. "You a snowball fight?" Mira asked and raised her eyebrows. Keith normally wasn't that kind of person to spend his time with a snowball fight. Nevertheless this gave her an idea. "Yeah, me and a snowball fight." Her brother said and brought her back to reality. Gus looked at her and gave her a smirk, saying: "I'm planning to pull the stick out of his ass. I think I'm succeeding." Both siblings laughed while Gus took another cookie.

"So, what're you gonna do, Mira?" Gus asked and looked at her, chewing on his cookie.

"Oh, I've got stuff to do." she said and grinned at the two boys, which gave her a questioning look before Keith sighed and rolled his eyes. He smiled at his sister and nodded. "Go on, plan your little secrets, little sister."

The girl smiled happily and went to her room to start planning everything.

"So, what's this all about?" Gus asked the taller one and took another cookie. "She's planing something. Probably Secret Santa and a Christmas party." He told him and frowned "How fast are you eating these cookies anyway?" Gus giggled in response and leaned against Keith to steal the last cookie. Keith really did find the younger boy adorable.

The next day in school Mira Mira gathered all of their friends together in the working room.

"So, why are we all here?" Julie asked curiously. "Yeah, come on, Mira, tell us!" Runo pushed the other girl and smiled.

The orange haired girl giggled and stood in front of everyone. "So guys, thanks for coming! I wanted to announce that I am planning to make a Christmas party and I'd love to invite all of you!" There was mumbling going around the room before everyone agreed that they liked the idea.

"Great, so it's setteled! The party is going to be on December 24th, we have enough space for all of you to stay over night. And" She added meaningfully "we're gonna have Secret Santa!"

"Secret Santa? Sounds great!" Julie beamed.

"Yeah, looking forward to my present!" Baron said grinning.

"Don't forget, you have to buy a present too!" Marucho told him giggling.

"So, I have made the pieces of paper with all our names on it." She took out a small box with the names in it and showed it to the others. "I'm gonna go around and everyone will pick out a piece of paper. If you pick yourself, ask someone to trade. But still: keep it a secret!" she explained and smiled at the others "Any questions?" she asked, smiling.

"Yeah." Ace said, who was leaning against the wall. "Can my sister come too? I wouldn't want to leave her alone on Christmas eve." - "Sure, no problem, right?" the girl said and looked at her brother who was leaning against the table Gus and Hydron were sitting on. "I don't see any problems." He answered, nodding towards her.

"Great! So I want you all to pick a name now. Ace, pick two then." Mira said after she added the name of Ace's sister and mixed the names again.

Everyone picked a name and put it into their pockets. A few minutes later the bell rang and all of them needed to go to class.

* * *

The following weekend was the last weekend before Christmas and everyone was in the city buying presents for eachother. Mira and Keith were helping out the others who weren't sure what they wanted to get for the people who they picked. Keith helped Julie out finding a present for Marucho because he was the only one besides the small boy who was into technology. Gus helped Keith out with his present for Hydron and Mira helped out Runo and Ace.

On Christmas Eve everything was ready, the living room was fully decorated, the Christmas tree was shining in many different colors and the table was full with delicious looking food. The air was filled with the smell of cinammon and Christmas trees, it was all in all Christmas like in the movies.

As Keith went downstairs to help his little sister with the dishes, he was overwhelmed by all the lights and Christmas feeling. Mira managed to put all of this up in two hours plus cooking almost everything. Keith went into the kitchen and saw his sister busy and humming Christmas songs. He smirked and tapped on her shoulder, so she'd notice his presence without getting scared "I see you're very diligent. Are you so excited for Chrstmas?" He asked. After turning to her brother and giving him a wide smile she answered "Of course! You know I love those feasts!" Of course he did. Every year his little sister was just as excited as the last, it's like the little girl she used to be was still there, giving her the jolly feeling she always used to have before she knew Santa didn't exist.

She looked at him and her smile disappeared. Wondering what was wrong Keith asked only to get a blunt "You're gonna wear that to the party?" He blinked in confusion before saying yes. He didnt know what was wrong with wearing the clothes he wore now. It was a plain white shirt with some brown pants. Okay, he had rolled his sleeves up but Mira always told him it looked better that way.

"You can't wear that to a Christmas Party! So either you wear this" the girl said and picked up a Santa hat "or you'll wear a Christmas sweater!" Keith sighed. He really wasn't a festive person but Mira wouldn't let him go before he'd chosen one of the things to wear. He decided to take the hat because that way he could keep his regular clothing on. He took the red hat and put it on, raising an eyebrow "Happy now?" The orange haired girl smiled and nodded. "Yes, now it's ok!"

The two siblings kept cooking and prepared everything that was left as the first people started to arrive. The first two to come were Runo and Julie. The two girls were wearing Christmas costumes and hugged Keith as he opened the door and then Mira. Keith noticed a huge bag the two of them had brought with them. "Do I want to know what's in the bag?" He asked and looked at the two girls. These looked at him and giggled "It's more decorations!"

"More? But we have so many already!" He protested "It's only enough when it's overflowing with decorations! Come on, you'll cook and we three decorate!" Before the Keith could say anything the girls already disappeared into the living room with the new decorations.

Half an hour later everything was done and everyone was there. The presents were lying underneath the Christmas tree and everyone was sitting at the table, eating and chatting gleefully. When everyone was done eating they all cleaned up quickly and sat down, half of them on the couch, half on the floor and started some Christmas movies. Lily, Ace's little sister, insisted on sitting between him and Mira so the three of them were sitting on the couch close together. Next to them were Runo, Julie, Marucho and Dan. On the floor in front of them were Hydron, Volt, Shun, Baron, Gus and Keith.

After the movie was finished Lily fell asleep and Ace brought her into Mira's room after they decided to wake her before midnight. "So, any ideas what we could do?" Mira asked smiling. She didn't plan the whole evening throgh, because she wanted the guests to decide too. "How about a drinking game?" Gus asked smirking.

"What? A drinking game? But I don't drink alcohol!" Runo exclaimed.

"Yeah, what should we do meanwhile?" Marucho asked.

"You could drink soda? Or water? Or whatever you like? It's a drinking game it doesn't matter what you drink. It's just funnier with alcohol." The blue haired punk said and shrugged "And I wasn't even serious when I suggested that." He pointed out "I would still be in, though." He added and looked to the hosts of the party. "So, whhat are you saying?"

Keith looked at his sister. It was her party after all. "Well… I don't think I have a problem with that… Who of you is going to drink alcohol?" She asked. Of course Gus rose his hand, Volt joined in. "I wanted to try it anyways!" Julie said and raised her hand too. "Yeah, I'll go for it too!" Dan beamed and raised his hand.

The rest wanted to stay with soda, so the siblings got glasses for everyone, some drinks and printed out a drinking game. Everyone sat in a circle around the game and they started.

After an hour Julie was already asleep and Dan started babbling. Volt was perfectly fine while Gus chuckled about everything. The game had some fields where it said "take off one piece of clothing" or "all together sing a song" or also "kiss someone of the opposite sex" and "kiss someone of the same sex". Keith had to admit it was pretty fun especially because Dan was talking such random stuff and Gus laughing like an idiot about it was a scenario that made Keith and the rest laugh more than once. After another thirty minutes both Dan and Gus were completely drunk so Mira asked whether they should stop playing the game.

"No, it's really fun! I don't wanna stop yet!" Runo said, drinking a shot of orange juice.

"Yeah, she's right." Hydron agreed, rolling the dice.

"But we can't let these two drink on. They should be walked sober." Shun said, already supporting Dan, so he won't fall on the table.

"We'll do it then, I guess. Let's not spoil the fun for the others. You'll take Dan, I'll take Gus." Keith said smiling and stood up to support Gus to his feet. As the two of them managed to get the drunk boys ready they went out into the cold winter air.

"I'll go right. We've been walking that way, so Dan will be more familiar with it." Shun said and left with the brunet clinging onto him and staggering.

Keith nodded and grabbed Gus' waist and hand tighter because the younger boy was about to fall over face first. "No falling asleep, Gus. We're walking." the taller one said and started walking with the other. " But you're so waaaarm! And so comfyyyyy!" Gus babbled out, leaning against his best friend. "I know, but you can't sleep while walking." Keith said which caused Gus to chuckle like it was the funniest thing he's ever heard; although it was an obviously drunk chuckle Keith found it adorable and chuckled with Gus.

"Hehee… you're so cute, you know that?" Gus asked and poked Keith's cheek. Keith looked at the younger one with a surprised look not really understanding where that came from and whether he said that because he was drunk or not. "So cute and handsome..." he chuckled and poked his cheek again. Yes, Keith definetily believed it was the alcohol, nevertheless he smiled at the compliments and thanked him. The walk kept on like this, until Gus changed the subject and started talking about a series he's started to watch. When it was almost midnight they were back in front of the house and Gus was completely sober again.

"Thanks for walking me sober for like half an hour." the blue haired boy said smiling and streched. "You're welcome. It was somewhat fun, I gotta admit." Keith said, letting go of the boy, so he could strech. Gus smirked and rang the bell "By the way" he said before anyone could open the door "what I said when I was drunk, you know the compliments. I meant it." Before Keith could say anything about it Hydron opened the door. "You sober again, you alcoholic? Hope you didn't vomit on Keith." he said teasingly and Gus followed him into the living room, playfully punching Hydron's shoulder. Not letting him react to the things that are being said to him was becoming a really bad habit of all of his friends apparently, Keith thought. He shrugged it off and went to join the others.

Lily was awake again while Julie didn't want to wake up for midnight and opening presents. The friends decided to just let her sleep and focus on opening their presents.

"So, I'd say the one with the Santa hat gives us all the presents!" Mira said and looked at her brother with a smile. Everyone joined in and Keith was pushed to his feet and in front of the Christmas tree. He should've chosen the Christmas sweater after all. The pink haired boy sighed and picked up the first present; it said Lily on it "Lily, this is your present." He said and handed it to her smiling.

She took it happily and opened it to find a purple teddy bear holding a pink heart. "He's so cute! Thank you!" She beamed and pressed the bear to her chest. "You're welcome!" Dan said proudly (also sober again) and gave the small girl a big grin.

The next present was Julie's so Keith put it back again and picked the next. "Runo is next. Whose present is this?" he asked, handing her the present. Marucho rose his hand and Runo thanked him before opening the present. It was a sweet tiara with flowers on it. Runo was incredibly happy and mmediately put it on.

Keith picked up the next present "This one's for Ace." He said and handed it to the grey eyed boy. "It's from me!" Runo said happily and regarded her new tiara. He opened the present to find some candles. Apparently Runo didn't know what she could get him so she got some candles for him to relax every once in a while. Not sure how he felt about it he thanked her and Keith picked the next present.

"It's for Marucho" he said "And the way it's written, I guess it's from Julie." he added while giving the blond boy the small box. She added hearts everywhere around his name. As he opened it, he smiled, taking out the small chip. "Wow, it's a new data chip! That's so cool!"

"The next one is Volt." Keith said and handed him the small box. He opened it to find a necklace with a plectrum in it. "Is it from you?" He asked and looked at Hydron. The green haired boy gave him a smirk and said "You're welcome" Vold smiled and put it on.

They continued that way, Keith gave everyone their present until it was only his and Julie's left. Shun got a wristband heart tracker, Dan got a new video game, Mira got a Teddy from Lily, Baron got some new headbands, Hydron got a fandom related towel, Gus got some alcohol (as a gag from Mira) and a box full of cookies and Keith opened his present the last and got a few new books.

All of them compared their presents and chatted happily, some of them already fell asleep, so the siblings started putting up some mattresses for their friends. After approximately an hour of watching TV and playing some small games everyone was asleep. Mira, Ace and Lily were sleeping in front of the chimney, cuddled up closely, Runo and Julie shared Mira's bedroom and the rest was spread through the whole living room. Dan for example was even sleeping underneath the Christmas tree, where Hydron had put a ribbon on his head to make him look like a present.

Gus and Keith were still awake and after changing and turning the lights out, they went into Keith's bedroom to get some sleep too.

As they arrived Keith turned to his best friend and said: "Before I finally get rid of this hat, I have another present to give to you." Gus smiled at him and took the box Keith handed him. He opened it and his eyes widened before he held back a small scream and hugged the other tightly. "I can't believe you got me the first five issues of the newest comic series! Thank you so much!" He beamed with a wide grin and Keith chuckled, hugging him back "That's no problem. You're welcome." He said. He was glad seeing the other one this happy.

Gus let go of the taller one and looked through the comics quickly before putting them aside and taking the hat from Keith's head. "So now it's my turn to be Santa, huh?" he said smirking. "Huh?" Keith asked. Gus had a present for him too? It wasn't new to him making the whole Secret Santa thing but actually getting personal presents from someone else than his sister and father was something completely new to him.

The younger boy put on the Santa hat and handed Keith a neatly wrapped box. "Merry Christmas, you big nerd." He said teasingly.

Keith let out a small laugh and took the box "You always call me a nerd." He stated. "Hey, nerds are my second favourite type of people!" The other said smiling "Second?" - "Yeah, first are the geeks, second the nerds and third place goes to the punks." He explained "Now open it." He said impatiently.

The taller one laughed and opened the box. In it were a few hairdye products and something red. He took the red thing out and noticed that it was a mask. It looked incredible. It had a unique form, which would cover only his eyes and nose and was red with golden accents. "It's… great! But why a mask and hairdye?" He asked and looked questioningly at his friend.

"Remember you told me, you want a change? A change in general, like a restart, like a new person. Well the first step to every change is the looks." He eplained smiling. Keith couldn't bbelieve Gus had remembered something he had just murmured once. He really was an amazing person. "So, I thought blond would suit you! Of course first we'll get you a new haircut! And the mask, well, I made it myself. It's rather a reminder that you can leave your sorrows behind anytime you want. And if you can't do it on your own I'll help you." He said, still smiling.

It was by far the best Christmas present the blue eyed boy has ever received. It was so thoughtful and meaningful to Keith he wasn't sure whether it was real or just a dream. He hugged the shorter boy and genuinly said: "Thank you." The words came out softer as they were supposed to and he let all of his emotions be crystal clear through the tone he was saying it in.

Gus hugged him back and murmured an as genuine you're welcome as Keith's thank you. As the two of them let go of each other Gus yawned. "Should we get some sleep too?" Keith asked and smiled at his best friend. "Yeah, that'd be nice." He said with a tired smile and the two boys got into bed. After saying good night, they fell asleep easily and slept through peacefully until the next chaotic morning.

**Done! **

**So as I said this chapter is longer and I can't believe I actually managed to write it in time although I got sick last week and I'm still trying to cough the demon out that posessed my body… **

**Still, I really enjoyed writing this chapter and I hope you enjoyed reading it! I wish you all a Merry Christmas and in case you don't celebrate it a Merry Thursday/Friday! **

**Please leave some reviews and be patient, I'm trying to better up my schedule at updating the fanfic! :)**

**Thank you for reading! :D**


	5. Chapter 5

**Finally chapter 5 is there! **

**I said I'd get faster at updating… Well, guess that's not gonna happen**

**So no big talk, enjoy reading and please let me know what you think! **

**Thank you for all your support!**

**Next one will most likely be about Gus and Keith again, no guarantee though.**

A couple days later New Year's Eve came. Keith and Mira celebrated it with their father and then went out to shoot some fireworks with their friends. Dan and Baron fooled around a lot, they tried building a bazooka out of an old plastic pipe and shoot rockets from it. It didn't work and Dan burned his thumb, holding their invention while it was doing its best to function. Even though it failed, the two still agreed that it was totally worth it.

Most of the others were just walking around, talking about New Year's resolutions and their plans and looking at the beautiful fireworks in the skies. They wanted to sit down or lie down somewhere but unfortunately the weather hasn't been very nice the last few days so the ground was wet and full of mud. Dan had stopped by his house to get a music player to "brighten up the mood" and although it has never been really low, the others just accepted it and appreciated the music. After approximately half an hour none of them could see their hand in front of their face because of all the smoke in the air. Every year Keith wondered how much New Year's Eve was contributing to the air pollution.

The next couple of months Keith's hair had grown and unlike Mira, he decided to let it grow a little. His hair wasn't curly anymore now that it wasn't short, It was rather straight and already a little bit over shoulder length; he did want a change after all. It just felt boring waking up to the same old face, the same old hair, the same old body every single day. He needed refreshment.

A week after New Year's Eve Keith had met Gus to finally dye his hair blond. He didn't want to throw his best friend's present away and to be honest, he believed blond wouldn't look too bad on him.

Because he had never done that before Gus insisted on taking part in that progress, he dyed Keith's hair and the result was better than expected. The light blond colour made Keith look like a completely different person and suited his face really well. Gus then gave him some advice on how he could change his hair to look better and he gladly took it.

Mira and Ace have been meeting a lot during the months that followed. Most of the times they took walks with Lucy or were at Ace's place because they couldn't leave the little girl alone. Mira wondered where their parents were that the sixteen year old had to look after her all the time. She also noticed that often Ace seemed very tired but was trying to overplay it or change the subject once she asked him about it. She decided it would be for the better if she wouldn't push him to answer and hurt his pride so she didn't ask again.

On a Tuesday in March Mira was on her way to Ace's place once again after receiving a call from him asking whether she wanted to hang out. When the boy had called Mira noticed that he sounded more stressed than usual and uneasy, she didn't mention that though. She had realized rather quickly that his emotions and problems were a very sensitive subject to the boy.

As she arrived at the small flat, she rang the bell and waited for him to open the door. Ace answered the door and let his friend in greeting her with their usual half hug.

"How're you doing?" Mira asked with a smile. She looked around the living room as she took off her shoes, looking for the cheerful little girl who usually greeted her happily. "Fine. I guess." Ace said hesitantly. "What's wrong?" Mira asked as she raised an eyebrow. There was obviously something going on.

Ace sighed and ran a hand through his hair "I need a favour." "A favour?" Now Mira was surprised and concerned. Ace was not someone to ask for help so something must be seriously wrong. "I..." he sighed again "I know I didn't say anything on the phone but could you please look after Lucy for a couple hours?" he asked uneasily. After processing the request she nodded "Of course. But what's wrong? Do you have to go somewhere?" "Yes. Lucy got sick overnight, she has a fever and doesn't feel well at all, she didn't even go to school today. I could leave her at home while I was in school because she was sleeping all morning but I really don't want to leave her alone while I'm at work. And you know I can't afford to skip work."

"Yes, I know. I'd love to look after her, just tell me what I need to know and go to work, don't worry about it." Mira said with a genuine smile. Ace sighed out in relief and told her that she should check on the little girl every now and then, when she would be awake she should check her temperature and maybe make her some tea, Lucy herself would know what medicine she had to take. Mira agreed and reassured him that she was fine with looking after the little girl, understanding that Ace did have it tough with several jobs and the responsibility over his younger sister.

Ace left for his job and let out yet another sigh. He hated asking people for help. Especially Mira. He knew she would worry about him, he just hoped she would be able to understand that he did not want to talk about his issues just yet.

Having to ask for help always put him in a bad mood, this time was no other. As he arrived at the Café he already saw that his least favourite customers were there waiting to be served, of course he had to do this. Rolling his eyes he entered the semi busy Café, put on his apron, took out the little notebook from its pocket and went over to the closest table. Forcing a smile he asked "How can I help you?" Behind his back from he other table he heard the man sitting there saying "We have been waiting much longer!" Resisting the urge to roll his eyes and give a snarky remark he noted the order of the customers and turned towards the couple behind him "What may I bring you?" "About time..." the man murmured before ordering two cakes and tea for him and his wife. Ace turned away and rolled his eyes while walking towards the kitchen to get the foods ordered.

The day went on as usually but Ace thought that all of his least favourite customers decided to be especially social today and come to the Café during his shift, talking way more than usual. After having taken four complaints from different customers already, hearing another upset customer calling for him, annoyed him visibly. He walked over to the table and raised an eyebrow "Yes?"  
"We have been waiting for our cakes for ten minutes now! After not getting the table that we originally wanted, it should be the least to make our order your first priority, wouldn't you agree?" the unpleasant woman asked angrily. "No I would not." He replied, well aware that he was being impolite. To make his position clear he crossed his arms in front of his chest and added "As you can see, there are several other customers here who also want to order, the food has to be made, because as you might know we only serve freshly baked goods and to be frank with you I would rather take care of the other customers because they are not as unpleasant and frustr-" "Ok, I'll take care of your cakes right away, Ma'am, please excuse the delay. Would a free cup of tea make up for the inconveniences?" The blue haired boy came from the kitchen and gripped Ace's upper arm to stop him from getting into trouble.

The woman wanted to talk back but saw that it would be better to simply agree. Gus smiled sweetly at her, thanked her for her patience and pulled Ace into the kitchen. "What the fuck was that about?" He asked, looking accusingly at his co-worker. Ace' annoyance couldn't possibly grow any bigger. Now even Gus was picking on him. "Shut up. Won't happen again if they stop being such pricks." "They may be pricks, but that's how our business works, you know that very well." Gus replied and brought the cakes and tea to the woman and her friend. As he came back, he wiped his hands on his apron and leaned against the wall facing Ace "I get that today is a tough crowd but you're usually not this aggressive. What's wrong?"

Not this. Anything but this. "Nothing." Ace snapped. He did not want to talk about it. It was the last thing he wanted. The other squinted his eyes slightly and leaned to his co-worker "Listen. I don't want to have an awkward conversation with you either. But you fucked up several times today already and now you almost insulted a customer. Whatever personal problems and stress you may have you cannot afford to let it out on our customers. So either you tell me or this is going to go on as shitty as it has until now. And please keep in mind that we still have two hours to go, cleaning up excluded."

Ace did not look at Gus and held his arms crossed in front of his chest. He knew the other was right. He just didn't want to admit that. The issue was that he really could not afford to lose his temper and with that maybe his job. "Lucy is sick." he said quietly still looking at the clean floor. Gus leaned back again and listened, eyeing the other. "I think the responsibility and all that shit is making me sick." he paused for a while and sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his index finger and thumb. "After the incompetent people who claimed to be our parents ran away and gave the flat to some homeless alcoholics I had to care for Lucy on my own. You know how it is, society doesn't give a shit about homeless people, children or adults, it doesn't matter. With my savings and a couple months of living on the streets I could afford a small flat. To pay for the rent I had to take 3 jobs. Still work at all of them. I also promised Lucy I wouldn't quit school, if I did she would believe to be a burden to me. Not her fault her parents were useless fucks."

He finished biting his lip. It was the first time he talked to anyone about their situation. He didn't know how he felt about sharing his problems but he could tell he was much calmer.

Gus noticed the first customers were done eating and asked compassionately "You feelin' calmer?" Ace nodded, eyes still focused on the floor "Let's go back to work." Gus said and gave Ace two pats on the shoulder as he passed him to serve the customers.

He could only imagine how hard life must be for his co-worker but opening up could get some of the pressure off of him. Especially during their shift it was important for Ace to keep a clear mind and be able to deal with the most annoying customers.

Ace took a deep breath and got back to work as well, indeed feeling a little better than before. He contemplated telling Mira as well, he was very close to her after all but he decided for it to happen on another day. He would sit down with her and take more time to talk about it, she would have questions after all.

After what seemed like an eternity the Café closed and they started cleaning up. Gus insisted on doing that with Vulcan alone so Ace could go home to Lucy and bring her some leftover cake. Ace thanked his friend and went home, remembering to repay the favour to Gus in the future.

As he arrived home Mira was sitting in the living room with a cup of tea and a book on her lap. When she heard him open the door she looked up and greeted him with a smile "How was work?" She asked, putting the book on the table next to the armchair she was sitting in. "Could've been better." He answered briefly "How's Lucy?" He asked, sitting on the sofa next to the armchair. "She's a lot better. Her temperature is almost back to normal, she drank a lot of tea and I read a book to her. She's been sleeping for an hour now, I think tomorrow she can go to school again." The girl said smiling.

Ace smiled slightly, happy to hear that his beloved little sister seems to be better. "Thank you, Mira. You really helped me out today." "Anytime. Really, if you ever need me to look after her again, don't hesitate to ask, I really like her." Mira told her friend. Looking at her Ace smiled, being glad that a girl as compassionate and kind was his friend. He made up his mind that he would definitely tell her about what happened in his and Lucy's life, but first he needed to thank her properly. He held out one of the bags he had taken home to her, saying "Take this as a thank you for today." Curiously she took the bag and her eyes lit up with excitement, seeing the baked goods in it.

The two talked for a while before saying goodbye and Mira went home. The young man, after having taken a shower, was finally able to rest on the sofa in the living room, where he usually slept and drifted off to sleep almost right away due to the exhaustion of the day.


End file.
